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Why resistance is common in antibiotics, but rare in vaccines

Why resistance is common in antibiotics, but rare in vaccines

CELIA SOUQUE, Postdoctoral Researcher, Microbiology, University of Oxford LOUIS DU PLESSIS, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Oxford ANTIBIOTIC resistance is a worldwide problem to the extent that there is a grave risk that common infections will soon become untreatable. Meanwhile, vaccines developed nearly a century ago still protect us from deadly diseases. What might explain this difference? Bacteria have evolved resistance to every antibiotic ever developed. Sometimes this happened very soon after an antibiotic was first introduced. It took just six years for resistance to penicillin, the first antibiotic, to become widespread in British hospitals. But resistance against vaccines has…
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Antibiotic resistance: cheap diagnostic test could be a saviour

Antibiotic resistance: cheap diagnostic test could be a saviour

LARA MARKS, Visiting Research Fellow, History of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cambridge ANKUR MUTRJA, Group Leader, Global Health (Infectious Diseases), University of Cambridge WITH the world’s attention focused on combating COVID-19, it is easy to forget the other significant threat to public health and the global economy – the rapid rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Yet the problem has not disappeared. Indeed, the pandemic is probably accelerating it. Predicted to cause 10 million deaths a year by 2050 if left unchecked, AMR occurs where microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, develop resistance to antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics,…
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